Dichotomy and Oh My Love to open.
We saw the latter band last year and noted, ‚ÄúMadison's Electronic Pop duo Oh My Love opened the show with a brief 25-min set, consisting of chillwave, atmospheric, synthy, electronic pop songs. In typical electronic pop bands, very little setup was involved... mostly consisting of a laptop or music producing device (courtesy of Christian) and/or with live vocals (which was provided by Hannah). The two played a few tracks from their EP Free_Ways, but also throwing in their new single "Spark" and a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"... but done in a slow, haunting, and deliberately downbeat style. ‚Äù

For a brief minute, Dresden Dolls reformed with drummer Brian Viglione and Amanda Palmer. They rocked out the 5,000-capacity amphitheaters in Boston and Brooklyn. The whole thing was livestreamed on Huzza.io.

Now, Amanda Palmer is back on the road, doing a small, short tour date called ‚ÄúAn Evening with Amanda Palmer‚Äù. If you‚Äôre near one of the five North American cities on her tour schedule, you really need to attend.

Expect her to play fan favorite songs like ‚ÄòUkulele Anthem‚Äô, but possibly also covering Prince‚Äôs ‚ÄòPurple Rain‚Äô (since she‚Äôll be playing in Minneapolis and she recently recorded the cover song with composer Jherek Bischoff).

British singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jack Garratt is currently on tour with Mumford and Sons, but on his off days with the massive band, he's booked a few smaller side gigs - including one at 7th â€¦

Seeing Jack Garratt on his side show from his Mumford & Sons tour last Saturday, at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, was like "a little bit of music and a little bit of comedy."

Oh My Love

Madison's Electronic Pop duo Oh My Love opened the show with a brief 25-min set, consisting of chillwave, atmospheric, synthy, electronic pop songs. In typical electronic pop bands, very little setup was involved... mostly consisting of a laptop or music producing device (courtesy of Christian) and/or with live vocals (which was provided by Hannah).

The two played a few tracks from their EP Free_Ways, but also throwing in their new single "Spark" and a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"... but done in a slow, haunting, and deliberately downbeat style.

Setlist

Jack Garratt, dressed in Minnesota Twins shirt & hat, is truly nervous on Saturday's show. For some reason or another, his fourth ever show in the USA, his first in Minnesota, Garratt was really scared to play on stage, adding, "I know half of you here... the other half I don't know. It's terrifying! Some of you I don't know, why are you here?"

We're also not sure why Garratt was having anxieties. Perhaps it is because Garratt was a one-man-band, playing all the instruments (with the aid of some pre-programmed loops, a guitar, and a drum machine); if the songs came out bad - all the blame is on Garratt. You can hear the fear in his shaking voice, and the constant thumping EDM music coming in through the walls from First Avenue's main stage didn't help either (especially when Garratt is awkwardly silent on stage).

My favorite moment in his set was his cover of Mario's "Let Me Love You", which Garratt described as one of the finest music ever written, particularly the middle eight section. His version would be as if he wrote it, but sung by the two Michaels: McDonald and Jackson. After the song was played, Garratt would add an additional Michael McDonald vocal-styling to the show, complete with the deep baritone voice.

After nearly an hour into his set, Garratt announced he only had a couple more songs to some disapproving looks from the crowd. "I have like eight songs! Anyone who done some research on me should know that!," laughs Garratt. With that, he sincerely ended with, "Thank you. It's been a privilege to come to this part of the world and play for people who still cares about music."

British singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Jack Garratt recently released a new song called "The Love You're Given" to all digital retailers. The song sampled the voice of acclaimed vocalist Lisa Fischer (20 Feet From Stardom) â€¦

NYC duo MS MR came to Minneapolis â€œfor the first time as a band and as peopleâ€ ...and â€˜rocked it like a â€˜Hurricaneâ€™. â€˜Hurricaneâ€™, of course, refers to their infectious single of the same nameâ€¦

Here are some concerts taking place in the Minneapolis/St Paul area from August 8 to August 9, 2015.

British singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jack Garratt is currently on tour with Mumford and Sons, but on his off days with the massive band, he's booked a few smaller side gigs - including one at 7th Street Entry on Saturday, August 8th.

We've already mentioned Garratt when we spotlighted him at this year's SXSW so we're pretty excited to get this great opportunity to check out this one-man show at this tiny venue in Downtown Minneapolis.

Also, the 8th Annual Pizza Luce Block Party is this Saturday, August 14th. I've been to a few of these, they only promise a few things: pizza, brats, beer, and music. What more are you asking for ? ....